NBC's Richard Engel released in Syria

12/18/12 8:31 AM EST

NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel and his production team were released today after being held captive for five days inside Syria, the network announced today.

In an interview with NBC's Today show, Engel said the captors were members of a Shiite government militia loyal to Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad and allied with Hezbollah.

Engel, his producer Ghazi Balkiz, his camera man John Kooistra, and Turkish journalist Aziz Akyavas were detained Thursday after crossing into Syria, blindfolded and placed in a truck, according to information provided by the network. They were bound and blindfolded during their detention, but were not otherwise physically harmed. They had no contact with NBC News, and there were no requests for ransom, according to the network.

News of Engel's release followed a media blackout, wherein NBC News asked media outlets not to report on their capture, citing safety concerns. But reports from Turkish outlets circulated widely on Twitter Monday. One U.S. outlet, Gawker, violated the blackout, citing an absence of specific threats to Engel's safety, and others aggregated from that report.

In providing a statement to news outlets, NBC News president Steve Capus thanked media outlets for their "efforts on behalf of our colleagues in Syria."

"We appreciate your professional courtesy and invaluable assistance," Capus said in a statement.

*This post has been updated to include the names of all four men held in captivity.